Feature

Airlines Leave Gold Miners in the Dust

American Airlines' parent is flying through bankruptcy, as industry becomes top equity performer in 2013.

An investor would have to be supremely unlucky to have missed out on the market's rise this year. The S&P 500 was up 27% through Friday, the Dow, 22%, and the Nasdaq, 35%.

That said, different industries offered different rewards. A bet on airlines, for instance, paid off better than an investment in any other group, according to a ranking of the 98 Dow Jones U.S. total market industry groups. Airline stocks soared 96% through the...